Big Update On Ricky Steamboat's In-Ring Future

A dragon that has long been dormant is finally returning to battle this fall! It was announced today via Sports Illustrated that legendary WWE Hall of Famer Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat is making a return to in-ring action for Big Time Wrestling on November 27 at Raleigh, North Carolina's Dorton Arena. "Ricky Steamboat is one of the greatest all-time, and we're excited to bring a legend back to the ring," Big Time Wrestling co-owner Steve Perkins said. "Interest will be high, and ticket sales will begin today."

Steamboat last wrestled on June 18, 2010 at a FCW/WWE developmental show, where he teamed with his son, Richie Steamboat, against The Dudebusters' Caylen Croft and Trent Barretta. His most recent involvement in singles action came when he secured a win over Drew McIntyre at the August 2, 2009 WWE live event. The win over McIntyre marked the end of Steamboat's 2009 return run, which included four matches against opponents like Chris Jericho, Edge, Kane, Matt Hardy, and The Big Show. His last appearance with WWE occurred on the February 25, 2019 episode of "WWE Raw" during a segment to celebrate the 70th birthday of Ric Flair. He also made several appearances with Major League Wrestling in recent years, and made his first appearance in AEW as a special guest timekeeper this past August.

The health of Steamboat was recently a hot topic of discussion in the wrestling community after comments made by Jake Roberts, but Steamboat would address those concerns, telling everyone that he was doing okay and that doctors had described him as healthy. He attributed Roberts' comments to being tied into a conversation about Roberts giving Steamboat a DDT onto cement years earlier. So far, there's no indication who Steamboat will face in his in-ring return.